Essen Instruments Inc announced the establishment of a European Discovery Services operation and corresponding business site at the Biopark, Welwyn Garden City, UK. The new facility, headed by Dr Del Trezise, will provide contract and collaborative services for drug discovery based initially around ion channels and Essen's pioneering platform technologies including IonWorks planar array patch clamp electrophysiology and IncuCyte.

"Extending our successful US Discovery Services operation into Europe is an exciting and natural extension of our business model," said Kirk Schroeder, president and CEO. "I am delighted to have Del Trezise, formerly director of Assay Development at GSK, to lead this venture. Tim Dale, also formerly of GSK, will join as lab manager. Del and Tim have a tremendous track record in the ion channel drug discovery field and together they bring an extensive working knowledge of the applications and power of Essen technology. Their combined expertise together with our new UK site at the Biopark enable Essen to better support and grow our European client base."

Essen Instruments is a leading instrument and service provider in the life science research field with a long history of product innovation. Products invented by Essen personnel include the first high-throughput cell-based assay platform, FLIPR; the first high-throughput planar electrophysiology platform on the market, IonWorks and the first live-cell imaging system to fit inside a standard cell culture incubator, IncuCyte.